


Amortentia

by rosegardenlake



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Confessions, Fluff, Ice Skating, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, One Shot, SHEITH - Freeform, Valentine's Day Fluff, the worst love poem you will ever read, they're both dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 17:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13686486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegardenlake/pseuds/rosegardenlake
Summary: Keith's had a massive not-so-secret crush on his best friend for years now but he's always been too afraid to confess.  Shiro's just too good for him, he's aGryffindorand Keith's aSlytherin, it's just not meant to be.  But when Keith accidentally gives Shiro chocolate mixed with the most powerful love potion in the world, he's not sure he has the strength to resist when Shiro comes to him, confessing his undying love.





	Amortentia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ibupony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibupony/gifts).



> For ibupony!! I saw "Hogwarts AU" and I was like "I AM SO THERE", haha. I hope you like it. Happy Valentine's Day!! <3

It’s in the Forbidden Forest that they meet.  By the time Keith gets there, daylight has already turned golden as it sneaks through the trees’ cracks and Shiro is already waiting.  The fading sun outlines him in gold with the last of its effort and he’s beautiful.  He’s always beautiful.  He’s sitting peacefully, arms relaxed in his lap, leaning against their tree they always meet up at.  His head is tilted back and his eyes are closed as he waits, just for Keith.

“Hey, there,” Keith pokes his head around the tree, looking down at Shiro basking happily in the sun.  When he hears Keith’s voice, his lips twitch upwards into a smile.  “All alone on Valentine’s Day, huh?  That's rough, buddy.  Need some company?”

Shiro tilts his head back and fixes his gaze on Keith; it’s warm and fond, his brilliance making daylight.  “What kept you?  I thought you weren’t coming today.  Maybe out on a date or something.”

“ _Yeah_ , right,” Keith laughs, rolling his eyes.  “All those invites I got today.  Overwhelming.”  

Shiro chuckles with him, kicking his feet out and patting the ground beside him for Keith to sit.

Keith plops himself down beside Shiro.  It’s nice to just sit together, especially after a long tiring day in class.  They don’t even have to say anything to each other to make it the nice healing time it always is.

Keith notices Shiro’s bag by his side.  It’s stuffed to maximum capacity, overflowing, literally bursting at the seams.  He stops.  Gawks.  “Are those...?”

“Valentine’s cards?  Yeah,” Shiro blows out a long exhale.  “Don’t say anything to anyone, but I’ll die if I get another card.  Today has just been _exhausting_.  I got a lot of chocolate too.  Do you want some?”

“ _Holy shit_ ,” Keith laughs, covering his mouth with his hand as he leans in closer to see.  “ _All_ of these are for you?!”

“It was horrible.”

Keith grabs a few that are bursting out of the bag and analyzes the craftsmanship.  He nudges Shiro on the arm as he points to a heart.  “Wow, must be hard being so popular...”

“Okay, okay, you’re right.  I’m being a brat.”

“This won't even _fit_ ,” Keith laughs, pointing out a box of chocolates that’s slipping right out of Shiro’s bag.  “It’s huge.”

“You like chocolate, don’t you?  Here.  It’s yours,” Shiro shrugs, grabbing it from his bag and shoving it into Keith’s hands, who grins widely.

He pops two pieces in his mouth and hums happily, swaying his feet back and forth as he relishes in the moment.  “Oh, man, they get you the quality stuff.  You’re so lucky.  None from someone you like?”

“Nope.”  Shiro groans softly, rolling forward and rubbing at his face as he looks at his bag in dismay.  “I don’t know what to do.”

Keith is laughing again, hands full of half-melted chocolates.

“This is _serious_.”

To demonstrate his point, Shiro leans over and flicks the latch on his bag and the mountain of them comes pouring down, sliding out over the grass.  It looks like a scene from one of those clown cars where they just keep coming from the depths of Shiro’s bag, more than looks even possible.  Maybe Shiro had charmed the bag to fit more.  That’s the only thing that makes sense.

Shiro smears them across the ground with his hands and just stares, eyebrows raised in overwhelmed disbelief.  There are so many.  Hundreds, maybe.

The look on Shiro’s face is so comically traumatized - a deer in the headlights - that Keith can’t help but laugh loudly, the sound bouncing off the trees and surrounding the meadow around them.

Shiro looks over, momentarily stunned at first, and then softens like putty, warm smile pushing away the discomfort.  There’s pink in his cheeks and ears.  Fondness in his eyes.

Keith holds his stomach as he doubles, laughing into the ground, chocolate smeared across his face.  He’s having too much fun envisioning it.  “Did they just... _line up_ and hand them to you all day?”

“ _Basically_ ,” Shiro chuckles in amusement as he watches Keith rolling around with laughter.  “It’s not that funny.”

“Oh, my god, my stomach hurts.  Like you’re some sort of attraction or something.  I’d better get your autograph now, while I still have the chance.”

Shiro groans in agony, sprawling out over the cards, pretending to hide them from Keith’s view, but he’s chuckling too.  “ _Keith_.”

Keith straightens, making a valiant effort to combat his laughter.  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.  This is serious, as you said.  That’s a lot of hearts to break.”

“I _know_.  I mean, I’m honored, I _am_ , but what do I _do with all of them_?  I can’t just _throw them out._ Most of these are hand-made and they’re _gorgeous_.  I just...”  He heaves a sigh.  “I can send a few back home at a time out with Snowy, but she’s so small and it’ll take _ages_.”

“You can borrow my owl too,” Keith wipes away a tear, plucking another card from the mountain.

The card in his hand has an ocean trapped inside a bottle, a small little boat floating back and forth with stars in the sky.  Keith sighs, mood sobering as he sees the obvious care and craftsmanship poured into it.  His laughter dies on his lips.  “They are gorgeous,” he says softly, getting lost in the delicate lace and gentle soft colors.  “A lot of hard work and heart went into these...”

Shiro grimaces, looking over Keith’s shoulder.  He sighs, soul weary.  “I hate Valentine’s day.  I don’t want to have to reject anyone...  They’re all so hopeful when they hand them over.  I wish they’d all just be okay with being _friends_ .  Why does everything have to be _romantic_ with them?  God...”

He’s sprawling out dramatically, but there’s real hurt in his face.  His desire to please is a thorn in his side.  He can’t possibly ever win as well liked as he is.  Everyone thinks they’re special; everyone thinks he’s theirs.

Keith slips the card back onto the pile.  “...Yeah...”

“Well, nothing to do about it now.  You’ve been busy lately,” Shiro hums, plucking at the cards without much interest before turning his gaze up at Keith.  “Anyone you have your eye on?  I thought maybe you were making something for someone.  A confession from Keith - I would’ve been _so_ jealous.”  He looks up at Keith from beneath his eyelashes, eyes twinkling in jest.  He laughs, the sound twinkling, as he reaches up to wipe the chocolate from Keith’s face.  “You’ve got chocolate everywhere.”

Keith bleeds red, trying to mask his embarrassment with a laugh.  “I’m the full package obviously.”

“ _I_ think so.  So?  What were you making?  Who’s the lucky winner?”

He laughs nervously.  “I thought you just said not everything has to be romantic?”

“Not with _everyone_ .  That’s impossible.”  He leans forward, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.  “But I know you...trying to dodge the question.  Don’t even think about avoiding it.  I’m suddenly _very_ suspicious.”

“I’m not avoiding,” Keith laughs, pushing Shiro’s face away with his hand and turning his head to hide the traitorous blush no doubt bleeding on his cheeks.  “Who would I give a card to anyway?  The only one I really talk to here is you.”

Shiro laughs, tapping the end of a random card to Keith’s nose.  “Then what were you doing?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret?  Better not be some dark magic.”  

Keith’s always been at least a little bit sore over being a Slytherin.  “ _Shiro_.”  He rolls his eyes and bumps his shoulder against Shiro’s laughing form.  

It’s been a cold winter, but the day has been surprisingly warm and spring-like.  The flowers are starting to poke their heads out from the ground.  It’s early, but Keith thinks it’s kind of nice, fitting for a day like this.  Maybe it’s the magic blooming from the cards in Shiro’s bag.  There are so many.  Shiro has so many options.

Keith’s tired suddenly.  Without saying anything, he lets himself sink onto Shiro’s shoulder, resting his head there.

Shiro hums, positioning his shoulders so that it’s more comfortable for Keith.  He stops shifting through the cards and settles back, sinking into the quiet.  They sit there, listening to the stillness only the forest can provide.  It’s nice, just the two of them, friends or not.  Keith can live like this, he thinks.  He’s happy.  He’s lucky to have this much with Shiro, this mutual trust, this time alone.  

Shiro asks softly.  “...You alright?”

Keith inhales slowly as he comes back to himself.  He rubs at his eyes but doesn’t move from his spot.  He’s comfortable.  “Mm.  Tired.  I haven’t been sleeping much.”

“...Yeah?  You seem kinda sad.”

He laughs softly.  How does Shiro always know?  “I’m not, I’m just...”  He sighs, small and exhausted.  He looks over at the pile of cards - tossed coins into a well.  All wishes that will probably never be answered.  It hurts to think about, he knows the feeling all too well.  He says, softly, “You should go out with one of them.”

“Hm?”  Shiro chokes in surprise.  He jabs a finger at the cards in his bag.  “Them?”

“Yeah, I mean...they all care about you.  Who knows?  Maybe if you give one of them a chance, you’ll end up liking them too.”

Shiro makes a noncommittal sort of grunt in the back of his throat, shrugging a small little bump of the shoulders.  Keith rolls with it.  “...I don’t think so, Keith.”

“Everyone wants to be in a relationship, right?  That’s like _a thing_.  And you’re superstar Shiro of Hogwarts, best Gryffindor the wizarding world has ever seen.  Why do you never give anyone a chance?”

“I...do...”  Shiro says defensively.  “I just...I dunno.  I don’t need that right now.  I’m happy where I am.”

Keith heaves another sigh.  He wishes he could just curl up against Shiro forever and let the rest of the world pass him by, but he can’t.  Shiro’s got to get to class and, he supposes, so does he.  The difference is that there are probably loads of people waiting back at Hogwarts to see Shiro, to get their chance to confess.  The only one Keith waits for is right here.

Keith’s not so different from Shiro’s hopeful fans.  He sneaks his hand into his pocket and crumples the card he had been waiting to give.  Shiro doesn’t want another.

 

Pidge finds him moping in the corner of the library, an eyebrow already raised.  “Let me guess: you didn’t give it to him.”

He heaves a sigh and lets his head bonk against the wall.  

“You are _so_ ridiculous.  And after all that time I spent helping you, too.”

“Thanks, Pidge,” he sighs again.

“You spent like, what?  Four entire nights on it.  And look at your poor hands...so many bandages...  Keith, come on.  Don’t let it go to waste.”

Keith groans.

“It was brilliant work, you know.  If nothing else, you have a future in the card making business.”

“ _Thanks_ .”  Another forlorn sigh as he sags back into his chair.  “I was going to give it to him, I had it in my pocket but then he opened up his bag.  And oh, god, Pidge, you should’ve seen it.  There were hundreds of cards, all so well done, just for him.  And he was _upset_ about them.  The thought of rejecting others _kills him_.  ...I don’t want to do that to Shiro, not from me.”

“I’ve told you a million times and I’ll tell you again: he likes you right back.  What have I told you about my theories?”

“You’re such a Ravenclaw,” Keith resists the urge to roll his eyes.

“Damn straight.  And you know what they say about Ravenclaws.”

He presses down a small smile.  “That they’re _really irritating_ sometimes.”

She laughs.  “That’s not what they say.”

“I know.”  

She starts to put some books away, standing on the tips of her toes and struggling.  Keith gets up, shoves them into their rightful places for her and then sags back into his spot.

“Thanks, Keith.  You know, in six months, you're going to look back at this exact moment right now and feel really dumb about not confessing sooner.”

Keith groans, “Can we skip these six months then?”

Pidge pats him on the shoulder. “No.”

He lets his face smash into the desk and groans, miserable.  “I don’t know what to _do_.”

She pats him on the back encouragingly.  “Yeah, you do.  Confess already.  You owe it to yourself _and_ Shiro.  No one can do it for you but you.”

“I don’t like that idea,” he frowns, poking his head up to meet her gaze.  “I want an option two.”

“This _was_ option two: have the card confess for you.”

“Option three.”

“Option three is pine and moan and bitch about it aaand - oh, wait, you already are.”

He gurgles.  

“You can do it,” she says.  “I’ve always thought you have more Gryffindor in you than Slytherin.  And you know what they say about a Ravenclaw and her theories.”

“ _Irritating_.”

She flicks him on the ear.  “I believe in you.  Shiro believes in you.  So gather that courage I know you have and _confess_.”

 

He chooses option three.  For the night anyway.  Moping is easy and he’s good at it.  He sits alone in the Slytherin common room, staring out the windows, running a finger over his lip and looking into the depths of the Great Lake.  He hates the mermaids, thinks they’re ugly and creepy, but he likes to seek them out anyway.  It’s like a treasure hunt with no real reward.  Something always there for him to do as he thinks about Shiro, trying to gather courage that he knows isn’t there.

It’s late so not many people are awake still.  He jumps when he hears someone sitting down across from him on one of the couches.

With an ugly dip of his stomach, he thinks it might be a ghost (he is more than a little wary of the Bloody Baron), but it’s not.  It’s worse.  It’s Lotor.

Keith curls his lip.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Lotor chuckles softly.  “I assume your confession went sour?”

Keith tosses his head back in exasperation.  “Does _everyone_ know beside Shiro?”

“Basically.  But, in all fairness, I think _everyone_ is in the same boat as you.  It isn’t hard to guess.  Especially when you get all _dewy-eyed_ whenever he comes near.”

“I do not,” Keith grumbles.

Lotor just smiles.  “You know, there are certain... _aids_ to help you in times like this.”

“And I’m sure they’re all horrible ideas.  Just let me stew in peace.”

Lotor takes a box out of his robe, wrapped and laced into tight precise bows that shimmer with gold.  “Amortentia.”

“ _No_.”

“You know what it is?  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when speaking with _you,_ so smart you even know about love potions... Color me impressed.”

“I’m not using that on him.  You can leave now.”

Lotor sets the box out on the table in front of them.  “I went into Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes today and they were handing their extra stock out.  They’re popular, especially around this time of year.  I thought, ‘why not’?  But why would I need them?  Looks like _you_ need them more.”  He chuckles, teeth glinting in the minimal lighting.

“I don’t.  I won’t use that.”

“Ah, it’s only temporary, where’s the harm?  Wouldn’t it be nice to see him like that, stripped of his usual pretenses?  He’s the biggest liar of our school after all.”

“ _Shiro_?  Shiro would never lie.”

“Ha, so blinded by your love for him...  Tell me: he smiled when he received all of his beloved gifts today, didn’t he?  Thanked them?  Told each of them that he loved it?  Do you think he actually enjoyed receiving any of them?”

Keith snarls as that sinks in through his skin and into his heart.  

“A liar,” Lotor shrugs.  “Oh, _when_ will he ever tell the truth?  Well, use it or not, I won’t force you.  I just think, why struggle so hard when the answer’s right here, hm?”

“Leave me alone,” Keith sighs tiredly, pressing his fingers to his temples and sagging into his seat.  

Lotor holds his hands up in defeat, but he smiles like the snake he is.  “No harm done.”

“And take your chocolate with you!”  Keith calls after him.

Lotor just laughs and disappears up the stairs.

“Damn him,” Keith grunts.  He doesn’t want anyone to grab them by mistake - that’s just a disaster waiting to happen - so he snatches them up, every intention of throwing them out later.

He goes to bed and dreams of Shiro.

 

As he waits at their usual spot in the Forbidden Forest, he fidgets with his card.  Part of him wants to give this whole confession thing up and just settle for what he has already.  That’s not a bad deal, he gets a piece of Shiro to himself each day and that’s already more than anyone else has.

But another part of him wants to take a chance.  He wants to know what Shiro will say.  Maybe their private meetings every day after school really did mean as much to Shiro as they did to Keith.  Just maybe the differences between them don’t outweigh their similarities.  Maybe they’re actually good together.

Pidge is right.  He needs to do this and he needs to do it the right way.  He’s going to confess.  He’s got to.  It’s now or never.  

Keith jumps at the sound of bushes shifting.  

It’s Shiro, looking tired again.  “Heya,” he grins, smiling brightly anyway.

Keith sees his bag, stuffed to the brim again.  “...Don’t tell me.”

“Just as bad as yesterday,” Shiro laughs raggedly, collapsing beside Keith.  He pulls his bag off like it’s infected with something and pushes it away with his foot.  “Help me,” he whines, pressing his face into Keith’s shoulder.

Keith opens Shiro’s bag for him, sorting through the cards and looking at the chocolates with a suspicious eye.  He takes one in gold wrapping and chucks it.  “Don’t eat these,” he says.  

Shiro just groans, staying still.

“But these ones look okay. _Wow_ .  Who gave these to you?   _Oh, my god_ , was this from Hunk?”

“Oh, yeah, he was handing them out to everyone and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Bless him.  Can I have one?”

“Of course, Keith, you don’t have to ask.  Take as many as you want.”

Keith closes his eyes as he bites into one.  The chocolate has been perfectly crafted, the faintest hint of lavender on it.  He loves it.  “Try this one,” he says, placing on on Shiro’s stomach.  He begins to stack them.  “And this one.”

Shiro grabs them and starts to bite into them, nodding in appreciation.  “Tomorrow, I’m taking a day off.  Come with me.  Let’s sneak into the Room of Requirement.  Maybe it’ll transform into an exotic tropical beach and we can just...stay there.  We’ll bring the chocolates.  Hammocks hanging from palm trees.  Sea otters swimming by.”

“Sea otters?”  Keith’s eyebrows pinch together, but he laughs.  “I’m not sure that’s how it works.”

“Sure it is.  Come and see.”

“We’ve got _class_.”

“I know, I _know_.  We need to pass and all that.  But what’s one day, though, you and me?”  Shiro looks up, hopeful stars in his eyes.

Keith still thinks it’s a joke.  He laughs again, trying to resist the last of Hunk’s chocolate, but it’s looking right at him.  “You have more cards to accept tomorrow.”

“No more,” Shiro does a dramatic roll to the side.

“Poor poor Shiro,” Keith hums, patting him on the head.  He’s not going to chicken out this time.  Before he can feel guilt’s claws into his stomach, Keith grabs the card from his pocket.  He holds it up between them.  “I’ve got bad news for you.”

“What’s that?”  Shiro asks, pushing himself up and brushing his forelock from his eyes.

“Delivery.”

Shiro pinches his nose as he looks up at it, groaning as if he’s been betrayed and stabbed.  “ _Keith_ , they're even sucking _you_ into this?  I'm so sorry.”

Keith blinks, realizing what Shiro’s assumed, before muttering out an unsteady, “Uuh....”

“ _God.  Another card._ ”  Shiro sighs, hanging his head as he opens the bag wider.  “ _Add it to the pile_.  Why not?  What’s one more?”

“What a diva,” Keith mutters to try to hide the drop in his stomach.  He tosses it like trash into Shiro’s bag and looks away before he can see it sink into the other cards, insignificant and small.  He’d worked so hard, but that isn’t even the part that hurts the most.

Rejection.  Whether Shiro knows it or not, it still hurts.

But Shiro’s oblivious, still flopping himself around dramatically like it’s the end of the world.  Well.  At least Keith got it done and never has to think about it again.

“Wait,” Shiro mutters as he grabs the envelope and opens it.  “There’s nothing in it.”

“Huh?”

“You just gave me an envelope,” he laughs, flopping it around in the air.  "I guess a job as a delivery boy is not in your future."

Keith burns red.  “Oh, god, I must’ve forgotten it in my robe...”

Shiro looks Keith over.  “Annnd where is your robe?”

He scratches at his cheek in embarrassment.  It was just delivering a card, how could he have fucked that much up?  “I had herbology today,” he explains defensively, like that makes perfect sense.  “You know how hot it gets in those green houses.  I took it off and I guess I forgot...”

Shiro laughs outright.  “You are _such_ a dork.”

Keith groans, dragging himself up.  He had wanted this time for Shiro and him more than ever and it’s already ruined.  “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll go get it,” Shiro says easily, hand on Keith’s shoulder gently pressing him down as he jumps to his feet.

“What?”

“Well, if people are having you deliver their mail to me, it’s the least I can do.  Thanks, Keith.  You know you don’t have to do that.  You should’ve just told them to get lost.”

“Wh-What?  No.  I can go -”

Shiro presses a finger to his forehead.  “Stay.  Be right back.”

He hikes off.  Keith sighs, letting himself fall back into the tree.

He’s still burning like he has a fever, embarrassed and frazzled.  His confessions plain suck, no wonder Shiro hasn’t understood.  Maybe it’s just fate’s way of telling him to quit.

He feels like such a reject.

He tries not to think of the alternative, if this had all gone well.  If Shiro had said yes to his confession and they could be _together_.  He would’ve asked Shiro out.  There’s this limited time ice skating rink that's been set up especially for Valentine’s day and Keith’s been wanting to go each year.  Skating hand in hand with someone you loved?  That sounded nice.

Well, what’s another year of waiting...?

He’s still looking through Shiro’s cards morosely, stealing the occasional piece of chocolate that doesn’t look laced with suspicious potions, when Shiro comes back.

“Here you go,” he says, holding the robe out.  “We should get going though.  It’s dark suddenly.  I lost track of time.”

“Thanks, Shiro.  Gotta get ready for bed already, huh?  Need your rest for tomorrow’s next wave of Valentine’s cards.”

Shiro groans.  “I’m getting better with practice.”

“Better at complaining.”

“ _You_ ,” Shiro pinches Keith’s cheeks playfully and then, for good measure, messes up his hair.  “See you tomorrow, Keith.”

Keith lazily runs a hand through is hair, still sucking on a chocolate.  “Mmmhmmm.”  

The evening is golden as the sun sets over the hills.  The way the light catches his outline.  The way he smiles even through his weariness.  Shiro will always be the most beautiful person to him.

 

Keith dreams.

He and Shiro are at their usual spot, sitting beside each other.  Keith takes his bag out and opens it; inside are tons of empty glasses.

Keith begins to hand them out, filling each one with a red potion of malevolent design.  

“Drink,” Keith says to Shiro.  

He does, tilting his head back, red liquid disappearing from the glass, dripping down Shiro’s chin and neck.

He drops the glass and it breaks across the ground in shards.  When Keith looks up, Shiro’s eyes are dull and lifeless.  He’s a doll, not Shiro.  

“Good,” Keith hears himself murmur as he snatches Shiro up by the end of his chin.  He leans in to kiss Shiro on the mouth.

Keith wakes up, gasping violently.

Oh, god.

He remembers now.

He forgot the box of Amortentia chocolates in his robe.

He fights his sheets off of him and sprints to his chest, shoving the top up and ripping his robe out.  Frantic, he shoves his hand into the pocket.  Nothing.  The other one.  No.  Nothing.  Just fabric.  Fabric, fabric, fabric.  Nothing.

Shiro took the chocolates.  Keith’s panicking.  Shiro took the damn chocolates.

He hears an amused sniff from the bed beside him.  Lotor.  “...Did you end up giving Shiro your present after all?”

He just sits there on the cold floor, hands filled with his empty robe.  Why are confessions so damn hard?

 

The next day, Keith is paranoid.  He watches Shiro when they’re in the Great Hall, separated by several tables.  He presses his lips together and glares so hard that Pidge catches his glance from a few feet away and shoots him a confused look.  

 _Stop_ , she mouths at him.  And he looks away, perturbed.

He fidgets and worries about it all day.  It’s a strong love potion, sure, but it’s temporary, he has to remind himself.  And maybe Shiro hasn’t even _eaten_ them.  He had a ton to choose from and when Hunk’s chocolates are tossed into the mix, how could you look at anything else?

Only, Keith ate most of Hunk’s chocolates only yesterday, so...

He regrets it immediately.  He regrets everything from the past few days, really.  He can’t believe he betrayed Shiro’s trust like this.  Shiro’s the best person he knows and to be treated like _this_ from one of his best _friends_ is just...  Keith can’t swallow the idea.  It’s the worst kind of betrayal.

It isn’t until their daily meeting in the Forbidden Forest that Keith gets to see Shiro.  He’s pacing by the time that Shiro arrives, his stomach sour and _sick_.

Shiro’s grinning.  He’s always grinning.

“Hey, there,” he says warmly, dropping his bag.

Keith watches his face carefully for any obvious signs.  Licks his lips.  Tries to be cool.  “Hi.  ...Your day, um, how was it?”

Shiro smiles crookedly, narrowing his eyes and inspecting Keith.  “Speaking backwards today?”

“Uh, no.”  He clears his throat and straightens his back.  “Get many cards?”

“Today was much better, thank you.”  He looks at where Keith stands awkwardly.  “Stretching...?”

“I...  Have you eaten any of your chocolate today?”

“Chocolate?”  Shiro laughs, eyebrows still pulled together in confusion.  “Do you want some?  You know I’ve got loads of it.”  He starts pulling out boxes and shoving them at Keith.

Keith sighs, holding his hand up and sitting.  “No, I’m good.”

“...You sure?”

“Yeah...”

“If you say so...”  He looks over at Keith for a moment longer, eyes scanning over him.  “...You know you can talk to me about anything you want, no judgement.”

“Shiro,” he chuckles softly, nudging him.  “I know.  I was just worried you’d be tired again.  You look exceedingly charming today, how can anyone resist you?”

“Y-yeah?  You think so?  Well, I’m good, so don’t you worry.”

“And me too,” Keith says.  “If you ever want to talk to me about anything, my ears are open.”

“...Yeah,"  Shiro's quiet for a moment.  "Um, mind if I take you up on that offer now?”

Keith blinks.  Shiro’s fidgeting slightly, looking a little nervous.  “Um.  No.  Shoot.”

“Right.  Well, this is going to sound...well, I just...”  Shiro clears his throat and presses his fist to his mouth, thinking.  There’s a slight blush on his cheeks and he’s having a hard time meeting Keith’s eyes.  He swallows hard.  “Oh, god.  Okay.  I’m just going to go for it.  I have something for you.”

“Yeah?”  Keith says faintly.

Shiro bites his lip and shoves his hand in his pocket.  “Um.  You don’t have to accept it if you don’t want to.  I’m totally fine with it if you don’t want to.  Okay?”

Keith frowns, eyes going down to Shiro’s nervous hands.  He pulls out a large pink envelope that says in big words written by Shiro’s own hand, _Keith_.

Keith’s breath catches in his throat.  He stares.  

“Um,” Shiro says lowly, rubbing the back of his head.  With one jerky quick movement, he holds it out to Keith.  “It’s for you.”

Hands shaking, Keith reaches out for it.  It’s handmade.  Shiro, with his own two hands, made the _envelope_.  It’s folded and taped together with care.

“Oh,” Keith whispers.  He can’t move.  He can’t protest.  He can’t say, “Wait, this is all wrong.  You’re under a spell.  You’ve had a love potion.”  He just stares at it.  He’s always wanted a moment like this and now it’s here and his heart is zipping around in circles.  Shiro made him a card.

Shiro presses his lips together tightly.  “Um,” he cringes.  “Okay.  Let me just... _say it_.  Say it out loud.  If I don’t say it now, I’m afraid I’ll never get the chance and...and I want you to hear it from me.  Keith?”

Keith’s head snaps up, staring into Shiro’s silver eyes.  

Shiro looks nervous.  Nervous and scared and _endeared_ , like Keith is something amazing.

Guilt hooks in Keith’s gut.

The scene is perfect.  The sun is out and cheerful, sending warmth through the tops of the trees, lighting up the small white flowers growing from the ground at their feet, providing the energy for the birds to tweet merrily around them.  Keith’s never seen a river anywhere nearby, but he swears he can hear the soft sweet trickle of a babbling brook.

“Um, um, okay,” Shiro says, holding a finger up.  Paper wrinkles as he pulls parchment from his back pocket.  He clears his throat.  Ducks his head as he lets out a small nervous laugh, and then clears his throat again.  “I, uh, I wrote it all out.  It’s uh, it’s not that good.  So don’t...expect much.  But I just -  ...Here.”

Shiro, blush high on his cheeks, holds the paper out in front of his face between two shaking hands and recites the words, slightly breathless:

 

Love.  

What is love to me but coming to the greatest school in the world, but only being excited to see you?  

What is love but hearing that we are born supposed enemies, of Gryffindor and Slytherin, but feeling like you’re the best person I know?

What is love but wanting to travel the world and find all its wonders, but then realizing that they’re all in one person, in one soul: you.

I thought I had known love before in the softness of the stars’ glowing light,

But I did not know of its warmth until I saw the depths of your violet eyes.

Without you, I am a shell of who I want to be.  

With you, I find strength I never knew.

You are the beating of my heart, you are the song on my lips, you are the smile that keeps me going through dark days.

You are my home, my place of comfort.

Keith.  You are who I want to run to, rain or shine.  

I love you.

Will you go out with me?

 

Shiro finishes, eyes down, slipping the paper back into his pocket.  

Keith lets out a shaky laugh.  “That’s...that’s a Valentine’s day poem?”

“Uh, I mean...yeah, I tried.  Poetry’s never been my forte...  You know that.”

“No,” Keith shakes his head, swallowing hard around the lump that’s developed in his throat.  His voice is scratchy.  He never thought anyone in the world would want to write _him_ a poem.  And it’s from Shiro, in his own voice, spoken warmly like he actually means it.  Keith had never even dared to dream of this, but here he is, experiencing it.  “No, it was beautiful.”

Shiro lets out a short uncertain laugh.  “You’re not making fun of me, are you?”

“No!  No, not at all.  I loved it, Shiro.”  He’s trying to stop it, but tears form in his eyes as he thinks about Shiro’s words, the goodness in them, so tender and soft, meant for _him_ .  For Keith.  He’s never felt so happy.  “Really.  It was so _so_ beautiful...  I’ve never heard anything so beautiful.”

“Really?”  Shiro breathes, taking an uncertain step forward.

Keith nods, wiping at his nose.  “You should be a professional poet or something, it was that good.”

“...Well, with you, I’d have all the inspiration in the world.”

Keith rubs at his face harder.  “ _Shiro_...”

Shiro reaches his hand out and grabs Keith’s between his.  He laces them together.  He’s breathless.  “I know it’s late and Valentine’s day has passed, but...but happy Valentine’s day, Keith.  You deserve all the chocolate in the world.  I actually...I had convinced Hunk to sneak me into the kitchen and teach me to make the chocolates he does, but it’s uh, it’s a lot harder than it looks.”  He chuckles softly, holding out his hands for Keith to see.  There are bandages there on his fingers, just like Keith’s.  Keith lets out a shaky breath as he gently runs his fingers over them.  They match.

Shiro clears his throat.  “All those cards I got on Valentine’s day...I wanted to reject every single one, because honestly, none of them were what I wanted.  I kind of thought, when you kept working on things and not telling me...  I guess...”  His face burns in embarrassment as he trails off.

Keith looks up sharply.  “Me?”

Shiro nods, playing with Keith’s hands in between his, feeling the knuckles, tracing up the veins.  Keith lets him, frozen in shock and confusion.  

“When you brought out that card from your friend, for one second, my heart stopped and I thought it was from you.”

“... _What_?”

Shiro looks embarrassed as he ducks his head slightly and bites his lip.  “I-I thought you already knew.  I thought I was painfully obvious.  Matt makes fun of me all the time for the way I act around you.  ‘A mess’, he calls it.  I think about you all the time.”

Keith is shaking his head.  “You do?”

“Yeah.”

Keith looks up at him, breathless.  He can see the stars in his eyes even though it’s still day.  He laughs softly.  If only this were real.  But it _feels_ real and Keith’s already swept away in it.  

“Me too,” Keith whispers, squeezing their hands together tightly.  He wants to hold onto them forever.  “I like you too.”

“You do...?”  Shiro breathes, the most magnificent smile spreading across his face, reaching his eyes, making him look so young and full of hope.

“So much,” Keith whispers.  “That card _was_ from me, Shiro.  I just...when you assumed it was from someone else, I was too embarrassed to say anything.”

Shiro lowers his voice.  “The one that opens up like a flower?  With the paper butterfly that flies around the room?  And the flowers?”

He swallows, nodding gently.  “And the two people holding hands.”

Shiro takes in a sharp breath.  “I _thought_ that looked like us.  Matt said I was making things up!”

“The chocolate -”

Shiro’s still reeling from the card.  “Keith, you _made that_?”

“Uh...yeah.  I mean, Pidge helped.”

“...You made that for _me_?”

Keith nods slowly.

“Keith?”  Shiro asks softly.

He pries his eyes up to Shiro’s face.  “Shiro?”

“Can I...can I kiss you?”

Keith swallows hard.  Hesitates.  There's a reason he shouldn't want this, he thinks, but he can't remember what it was.  He thinks maybe it’s not real, but then he sees Shiro, right there, question in his eyes, waiting for his answer, and Keith’s mind is just one word: _yes_.

Shiro sees his hesitation and says softly, “You can say no.”  His fingers graze Keith’s jaw, but he’s on the peripheral of his space, ready to back away at a moment’s notice.  

“ _Yes,_ ” Keith says, tilting his head back.  For Shiro, the answer is always yes.  Of course it is.  It always has been from the moment he first saw him, sitting across tables, a golden star.

Shiro bends down, face pressing close. His lips skim over Keith’s, so soft and gentle.

Keith wants this.  He wants it so badly.  He’s _dreamed_ of this moment.  He never thought he could have it.

But...

“Wait!”  Keith cries, backing up, fingers going to his mouth as if burned as he remembers what got him this moment.  At what cost would he take this kiss?  “ _Wait_.”

“What?”  Shiro says in confusion.  

“I...We can’t do this.”

Shiro blinks back, embarrassment rising brightly on his cheeks as he scrambles.   “O-oh, you’re right.  I...I’m taking it so quickly.  I’m sorry.  This is all so much...  I got way too overeager.  Um.  We haven’t even gone on a date or anything...”  He presses his fingers to his mouth and laughs nervously.

“Shiro, I...”

Shiro’s eyes light up with an idea as he grabs Keith’s hand in his, turning his brilliant smile full force on Keith’s weak heart.  “Do you want to go now?  On a date, I mean.  The ice skating rink is still up.  What do you think?”

Keith’s dreamed of going with Shiro for ages now.  The ice rink was set up specifically for Valentine’s day and the understanding is that it is strictly for couples.

And here Shiro is, asking him.  Keith is so weak.

“More than anything,” Keith whispers before he can stop himself.

Shiro turns and pulls Keith along, big relieved grin on his face.  “I’ve wanted to go with you for so long,” he breathes out, as if reading Keith’s mind.

Keith nods slowly.  It’s like he literally has no control over himself in this state of shock.  All he can do is be dragged along and Shiro is bounding forward excitedly.

The ice skating rink is decorated in pink ribbon trimmed with gold.  There are bright colored balloons floating lazily above and giant stuffed teddy bears sitting on the edges, clinging to each other.

It’s such a couple thing.  People are staring at the both of them with wide eyes.  He can’t tell if it’s because it’s _their_ Shiro or because of their difference in House, but Keith can’t find it within himself to care either way.  Shiro knows his shoe size and is relaying it to the lady at the rental place without even having to ask Keith and he is totally enamored.

Keith’s shoe size.

Keith doesn’t even remember his own shoe size sometimes.

Keith just stares as Shiro grins brilliantly, handing Keith’s skates over.  When Shiro catches Keith’s expression, he tilts his head and inspects his face.  “Uh...  Are you alright?”

“I...  This is all...surreal.”

A smile spreads across Shiro’s face as he stares warmly at Keith’s.  “For me too,” he says softly.  He sits on the bench, gesturing for Keith to follow suit.  “I had always hoped, but...for you to actually say yes, to be with me...I could only dream, Keith.”  His voice softens at the edges.  “Ready to skate?”

“I haven’t skated in awhile,” Keith bites his lip.

“It’s okay.  I’ll catch you if you fall.”  Shiro winks.

God.  

Keith isn’t going to live to see Shiro after the chocolate’s influence wears out.  He’ll combust before then.  He follows Shiro out, who glides across the ice as if he does it everyday of his life.

Keith’s too busy watching him to realize he’s about to eat it.

“Sh-Shiro,” he calls immediately, buckling forward.

Shiro turns, catching Keith by the forearms to balance him up.  He’s laughing softly as he slices through the ice to a stop.  “You weren’t kidding.”

“...I used to be better,” Keith mutters, trying to steady himself.  “I think I just need a few rounds to get used to it again.”

He says that, but he’s jerky in his skates, each movement stiff and robotic.  When he tries to emulate Shiro’s movements and ease into it, he slips on the ice and nearly tumbles forward.  Shiro catches him, smiling the whole time, eyes twinkling.  Keith laughs.  He knows he looks ridiculous.

But Shiro just smiles, blush on his cheeks, hand on Keith’s.  He looks so ridiculously happy it tugs at Keith’s heart.

Bad or not, Keith cherishes this time together.  They’re finally here, skating, hand in hand, together.  His heart is so full.

If only it could be real.

“I liked the poem,” Keith says gently, concentrating on the wobbling of his feet.  Shiro sways beside him easily, as if this were just a walk in the park.  How does he do that?

The smile on his lips grows sweet, embarrassed.  “I wrote it almost a month ago to give to you for Valentine’s day.  ...I’ve been so nervous to actually hand it over though.”

A month ago?  Keith isn’t sure how this potion is supposed to work, but to confuse Shiro to this state...  God.  It really did it’s job.  Keith feels the illusion as if it’s reality and he’s not the one who even took the chocolates.

“I should’ve written one for you too,” Keith wishes.

“The card was beautiful, Keith.  It was more than enough.  I’ve never received something I loved better.  I mean that.”

And it does look like he means it now, his eyes earnest and wide, willing Keith to believe him.  

A girl carrying a handful of balloons skates cleanly through the ice to them.  She holds one out, clear on the outside, floating hearts on the inside.  “One for the happy couple?”  She asks.

“Yes,” Shiro nods, smiling brilliantly, taking it from her.  “Thank you.”  He wraps it around both of their wrists so it floats above their heads and he lets out the sweetest chuckle Keith’s ever heard.  “Look at us,” Shiro breathes.  “Happy late Valentine’s day.”

Keith lets out a small laugh.  He can’t help it.  The look on Shiro’s face is so open and free.  “Happy late Valentine’s day, Shiro.”

“Mm!  This is fun, isn’t it?  This is the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

“You’re not tired of this pace?”  Keith has a hard time believing it.  “I’m so slow...”

“It’s not about speed,” Shiro hums.  “It’s about who you’re with.”

Keith lets out a shaky breath, heart clenching.

He sees as Allura, a girl in his potions class, floats across the ice as if her skates can bend through the ice.  She looks elegant and graceful.

“Wow,” Keith says, watching her twirl, hair swaying through the air like clouds.  “She’s amazing.”

“Oh, Allura,” Shiro says happily as he recognizes her.

She leaps through the air again and lands, clean and professional.  She makes it looks so easy and Keith can barely stand.

He and Shiro rest against the side for a moment.  The sun is setting and they and Allura are the only ones in the rink.  It’s a school night and there’s a big test tomorrow that the teachers have been building up all month, but Keith and Shiro don’t seem to care.  

There are warm lights strung above the rink in the shape of twinkling stars and as the light from the sky faces, they flicker to life, glowing like fireflies.

Allura notices them on her way out, smiling and waving.  “Hey, you too!”  She says, and then skates off the rink.

“Oh, bummer,” Keith mutters as he rests his elbows back on the wall.  “She was fun to watch.  Since I can’t do anything.”

Shiro’s face lights up as he looks down at Keith.  “Hey.  I can do a jump.  Wanna see?”

“A jump?  You?”  Keith frowns.  “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“It’s not like we never get snow at home.  I’m a little rusty, but...here, can you hold this for me?  Stay here.”  Shiro says, pressing the end of the balloon into his hand.  

“Y-you won’t hurt yourself will you?  I probably won’t be able to skate you off this ice.”

Shiro laughs.  “I’ll be _fine_.  I used to do it all the time.  I’ve got this.”

He glides backwards, watching Keith fondly for a few moments, smiling happily.  “Watch me?”  he asks.

Keith softens.  He wants to bottle this moment up, a firefly in a jar, and keep it forever.  “Of course.”

With one last warm look, Shiro takes both hands from his pockets and picks up speed, gliding across the ice with easy grace.  He loops around the rink, wind tousling his hair, small content smile on his lips, and then Keith can see as he shifts his focus, the sharpness in his eyes intensifying as he turns...and _jumps_.  

It looks magnificent as he leaps through the air, his feet leaving the ice as he twirls through the air, so majestic and graceful.  There’s such strength in him.  Such confidence.  

Until he lands.  

Rusty, indeed.  He slips on the landing and falls.  It looks comical almost, like a cartoon character stepping on a banana peel and dramatically swooping onto the ground.

But Keith’s not laughing.  “ _Shiro_ ,” Keith breathes, heart in his mouth as he forgets his own lack of skill and rushes forward.

Shiro skids across the ice like a starfish splayed out on the sand.  

Keith clumsily topples to his knees when he realizes he can’t stop and slides up besides Shiro.  It’s with relief that he sees Shiro is laughing.  Hard.  

His eyes are crinkled and his chest is heaving with laughter.  “That was so bad,” he cracks up, pressing his hands to his face.  “I was trying to impress you and that definitely didn’t work.  Just bury me right now.”

Keith’s fear is slowly melted away as he watches Shiro giggling on the floor, a dissolved mess.  His hair is mixed with shaved ice.  The tip of his nose is cherry-red.  He’s a mess, an adorable, sweet, beautiful mess.

Keith starts laughing too, small at first, and then snorting as he sits beside Shiro’s head.  He ruffles Shiro’s hair.  “I am impressed actually.  At what a spectacular failure that was.”

“Well, in that case, I win.  Just what I wanted.”

“You looked great, Shiro,” Keith says, voice still trailing laughter.  “I didn’t realize you were so talented.”

“Oh, now you’re just poking fun at me.”

“No, never,” Keith grins.  “I mean it.  You got so much height.  It was amazing for those few moments.   _You’re_ amazing.”

“Thanks, Keith,” Shiro says warmly.  He reaches up to dust the snow off his lashes before turning his eyes up to Keith’s.  “I think you’re amazing too.”

The moment is soft.  Keith is lost in it.  It’s just him and Shiro in the middle of an ice skating rink, balloons floating around them, pink ribbons everywhere, and hearts and stars trapped in balloons near their head.

Shiro has always been tender around Keith, so it’s not hard to believe when Keith sees it in his eyes now, warmed and pulled taut with longing.  

Keith feels it too.  He has felt it for a long time.

It’s why he’s not surprised when Shiro pushes himself up on his elbows and kisses Keith.  And for being Shiro, gentle as snow, he kisses hard and deep.  He catches Keith’s mouth with his and breathes him in, hand curling into Keith’s hair as he pulls him closer.

It feels so good.

They fit together, they always have.  Even when people told him that _no_ , he can’t go over to talk to Shiro, he’s a _G_ _ryffindor_ and they’re the _enemy._ Even then.

This, with Shiro, it’s love for him.  It always has been.  He’s so happy because now, things are out in the open.  Now, they’ve both confessed and they’re kissing, they’re finally kissing -

“ _No_ ,” Keith pulls back violently, tearing them apart.  He slaps his hand over his mouth and stares down at the ice in horror.  

The hand that Shiro had tangled in Keith’s hair is still outstretched in the air, reaching for Keith.  He let his fingers soften and fall gently to the ice.

“...I-I’m sorry,” Shiro breaths, voice heavy with regret.  His lips are red and he’s winded, struggling to catch his breath.  “I should’ve asked.”

Keith shakes his head once, sharply.  “No, it’s not that.  I’ve...I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long now, you have no idea.  But...  You don’t actually like me.”

Shiro’s jaw actually drops.  “What?”

Keith hunches his shoulders, trying to protect his heart for impact.  He uses his hands to try to explain the depths of his betrayal.  What he’s done.  “This isn’t real.  You’re not in love with me.”

“Uh...”  Shiro rubs the back of his head before pulling himself up.  “...You decided that... _how_?”

“ _No_ , you don’t understand.  I...  I’m an idiot.  I’m _so sorry_.  This is all my fault.  You - you’re just...you’re under a love spell right now.  Everything you’re feeling for me is a lie, it’s fabricated.  I’m so sorry.”

Shiro reels back.  “Huh?”

Keith can’t look at him, he feels so much shame and horror for having let it get this far.  That’s all his fault.  He can’t blame that on Lotor.  “ _Oh_ , it’s a whole mess.  Those chocolates I accidentally gave you yesterday?  They’re love potion chocolates from that one Wheezes store, I dunno.  I never intended to give them to you, I swear, but Lotor was waving them around in my face saying I should give them to you and I grabbed them and I forgot they were in my pocket and then you got my robe and I had forgotten to throw them away previously and then when I saw you today I meant to explain everything but then you were saying all these things and I...  I...  I’m so sorry.  This whole thing.  It’s my fault.  I should’ve stopped it.  I knew what was happening and I should’ve stopped it right then and there, but I just...”  There are tears in his eyes.  He hangs his head, miserable.

Shiro reaches forward, cupping Keith’s face gently with his hand, seeking out his eyes and trying to understand.  “But...  Why would Lotor give you chocolates to give to me?”

Keith lets out a big breath.  Here it is.  Nothing left to lose.  “I’m not the one under the love spell.  Everything I’ve told you is true and more.  I’ve loved you since forever.  Everyone knows but you and the people around me are sick of me pining over you like an idiot.  I’ve had that card waiting in my pocket to give to you since Valentine’s Day.   ...I never got the courage to tell you.”

Shiro just stares.  “You think I said all this because of some love spell?”

Keith nods.  “Well, yeah.”

A smile forms on Shiro’s lips.  “That’s what this is all about?  It’s not that you don’t want us to be together?”

“What?  Of course not.  I’ve loved you since forever.”

Shiro laughs softly, closing his eyes for one short moment before looking back up at Keith from under his eyelashes.  “Okay,” he says.

“Okay?”  Keith blinks.

He doesn’t have time to think about what Shiro means before Shiro’s leaning in again, grabbing him by the shoulders and kissing Keith senseless.

He’s warm and firm and the kiss is golden.  It’s perfect.  It’s everything.  It’s love, it’s joy, it’s the manifestation of all of Keith’s desires, everything he could ever dream of, but _so much more_.  It’s fire, lighting up something in Keith’s belly that leaves him breathless.

Shiro pulls back and Keith’s head bobs forward in shock, staring wide-eyed at him.

“Keith.  I didn’t eat the chocolates.”

Keith takes in a slow inhale.  Thinks about it.  Tries to remember his name.  “What?”

“The chocolates from your robe,” he chuckles, watching Keith’s face closely.  “I didn’t eat them.  They’re still in my room, I’ll show you.  I’ve gotten so much chocolate lately I couldn’t even look at another piece.  Though honestly, if I’d known it was from you, I probably would’ve...but I didn’t.  I thought it was from your friend.”

“No, no, of course you ate them.  The card.  The poem.  This date...you were holding my hand.  Why else -”

“Is it so hard to believe? _I’m in love with you, Keith_ .  I’ve _been_ in love with you long before Valentine’s day came.  I wasn’t lying when I said that poem has been sitting on my desk for a month now.  I’ve had that card in my pocket these past few days, trying to gather courage to hand it over to you.  It’s taken me this long...  I’ve been so nervous.”

“Me too,” Keith says softly, pressing his fingers to his lips.  They’re warm and soft from being kissed.  He marvels at the feeling as slowly, understanding sets in.  “...You love me?”

“Keith.  How many other people have romantic rendezvous in the forest every day?”

Keith lets out a breathy laugh as he looks up into Shiro’s eyes.  He laughs harder.  “When you put it that way...”

He’s still shell-shocked, feeling detached from his body as he thinks over the entire evening and all the things that Shiro had said.  “...You meant... _everything_?”

“Everything,” Shiro breathes, slipping a strand of Keith’s hair behind his ear and leaning in closely.  He rubs their noses together.  They’re freezing and red but they laugh together, comfortable and elated in each other’s space.  “I can’t believe you thought I was bewitched the entire time.”

“I just...”  Keith swallows hard.  “I never even dared to allow myself to dream of this...  You’re _Shiro_.  You have so many options.  All of those Valentine’s you got...”

“I don’t need those other options, Keith.  From the moment I saw you, you’re all I ever wanted.  Of those whole mountain of cards, I choose yours.”

“Yeah?”  Keith breathes, smiling.

“Do you accept mine?”  Shiro asks lowly.

Keith reaches shaky hands up and cups Shiro’s face between both of them.  He allows himself this moment, caressing Shiro’s face with hesitant fingers.  It’s as if touching for the first time.  Shiro’s cheeks are so soft and warm.  Keith can feel them move as Shiro smiles beneath his touch.  “This is real...?”  Keith asks.

Shiro laughs, handing reaching up to press Keith’s hand to his face.  “I sure hope so.”

“Of course I accept, Shiro.  Of course.”

It’s night.  The sun has long gone and there are stars spread out across the sky above them.  A shooting star captures their attention and they both look up, bundled in each other’s hold.  

“Wow,” Keith hums, smiling happily.  The knot of disbelief is gone now.  He realizes fully that Shiro is his.  He’s never been happier.

He turns to look back at Shiro and leans in, pressing a kiss to his soft mouth.  As he pulls back just slightly, Keith breathes Shiro in.  He laughs because he smells faintly of chocolate, but, thankfully, not his chocolate.  Not this time, at least.  

"I love you," Keith says.

"I love you, too."

“Happy Valentine’s day, Shiro,” he smiles up at him, eyes filled with stars.

Shiro grins, snuggling his nose into Keith’s cheek and whispers against his warmed skin, “ _Happy Valentine’s day, Keith_.”  He weaves their hands together and doesn’t let go the entire night.

  


**Author's Note:**

> And a happy Valentine's day to all of you who are reading this. <3
> 
> (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Chat with me on [Twitter?](https://twitter.com/go__begreat)


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